Alex Morgan Named 2012 Female Athlete of the Year

Forward Wins Her First Award in Stellar Year with U.S. Women’s National Team; Julie Johnston Named Young Female Athlete of the Year

WNTU-20 WNTDec 3, 2012

CHICAGO (Dec. 3, 2012) – For their excellence at the highest levels of the sport, U.S. Soccer announced U.S. Women’s National Team forward Alex Morgan as the 2012 Female Athlete of the Year and U.S. Under-20 WNT defender Julie Johnston as the 2012 Young Female Athlete of the Year.

The U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award is the highest honor awarded to soccer players in the United States. Online votes registered on U.S. Soccer’s Facebook Page counted for 50 percent of the total votes, while the other 50 percent was represented by votes compiled from members of the national media and U.S. Soccer representatives, including National Team coaches and members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors.

The Female Athlete of the Year award is the first for Morgan and it comes in the Diamond Bar, Calif. native’s first time on the ballot. The forward leads all U.S. scorers in 2012 with 28 goals which is good for third-best all time in a calendar year behind Abby Wambach (31 in 2004) and Michelle Akers (39 in 1991). Morgan has also compiled a team-leading 19 assists in 2012, the fourth-most in a single year. She still has three matches left to play as the USA finishes the Fan tribute Tour, presented by Panasonic, which matches against China on Dec. 8 in Detroit, Dec. 12 in Houston and Dec. 15 in Boca Raton, Fla.

U-20 WNT defender Julie Johnston took home the Young Female Athlete of the Year award in one of the tightest races in the award’s history, just edging out her U-20 teammates Kealia Ohai, who scored the winning goal in the U-20 Women’s World Cup Final, and midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo.

The U-20 WNT captain was instrumental in helping the team win the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan, starting all six games on the backline and earning the Bronze Ball as the tournament’s third-best player, an extremely rare feat for a defender. The Mesa, Ariz. native also made an impact with Santa Clara, where the junior was the team’s leading scorer with eight goals and five assists in 14 appearances.